Leisure Wheels – September 2019

72 SEPTEMBER 2019 leisurewheels.co.za

GUIDE

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY

30 YEARS

OF DISCO

The Land Rover Discovery turns 30 this year. Since it already features

prominently in the magazine, we decided to look at some used options in case

you don’t have the budget to stretch to R1 million+.

A

s we all know, Land Rover started as a man-

ufacturer of military vehicles and evolved into

a maker of luxury vehicles.

Along the way, Land Rover realised there was a large

gap between the hardcore Series models and the lavish

Range Rover. The gap had to be filled, so the engineers

started working on ‘Project Jay’ (see design sketch above).

A year later, in 1987, the board gave the go-ahead and

in 1989, the Discovery was introduced at the Frankfurt

Motor Show. It goes without saying that it was a huge

success; it was the perfect halfway point between the

Defender and the Range Rover: capable enough to get

you where you want to go but plush enough to ensure the

journey is comfortable.

Three decades later, after more than 1.7 million sales,

we look back at some prime (and not so prime) used

examples you can buy in South Africa.

Land Rover has had some reliability issues over the

years so it’s worth researching these cars carefully before

you part with your money. Know what to look out for on

every engine, or have an independent inspector give them

a once-over before signing on the dotted line.